Peacock nets streaming deal for Amazon Fire TV devices, Fire tablets

Unlocking a key streaming distribution conduit, NBCUniversal's Peacock service will launch apps for Amazon's lineup of Fire TV devices and Fire tablets on June 24, marking a US-focused deal that comes together nearly a year after Peacock launched nationwide.

Financial terms were not announced, but the agreement doesn't solely focus on Peacock, which will serve as a primary streaming home for NBCU's coverage of the Tokyo Summer Olympics. It also includes distribution on Amazon devices for several NBCU streaming apps for NBC, Bravo, NBC News, NBC Sports and Telemundo.

The Peacock app will be compatible with the entire Fire TV product lineup, the companies said. NBCU's direct-to-consumer streaming will start off with a high level of app-launch integration with Amazon's voice-powered Alexa navigation and search system, with "full" Alexa title integration set to roll out later this year that will enable customers to navigate Peacock's entire lineup from the Alexa-based voice remotes, Fire TV Cube and Echo devices.

The new deal with Amazon fills a big distribution hole for Peacock, adding a platform that, as of late 2020, had had about 50 million active users. Peacock is already available on Roku players and Roku TVs, web browsers, IoS and Android mobile devices, Android TV and Chromecast devices, certain LG, Vizio and Samsung smart TVs, Comcast X1 and Flex boxes, Cox Contour and Stream Player devices, PlayStation 4 and PS5 consoles and on select Xbox consoles.

Getting deals done for top streaming devices is no longer a fait accompli for all major direct-to-consumer streaming services. Peacock, for instance, did not get onto Roku's platform until about two months after the national launch and weeks of testy negotiations. Meanwhile, negotiations between Roku and Google's YouTube TV and Roku and Charter Communications) (for the cable op's pay-TV streaming app) seem to be at a standstill.

Peacock currently supports three tiers, a $4.99 per month premium service with ads, $9.99 per month without ads, and a free, ad-supported version that features a smaller content library than the two paid options. Peacock ended Q1 2021 with 42 million signups, though the service has yet to break down how many of those are for the free version or Peacock's two paid tiers.

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— Jeff Baumgartner, Senior Editor, Light Reading